Lifestyle/Culture

Serie A has not even restarted following the coronavirus stoppage, yet pressure is already mounting on Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri following his side's failure to win the Coppa Italia.

It’s been a tale of two halves for Schalke 04 this season. 

The arrival of Jürgen Klopp protégé David Wagner was hailed as a progressive step forward after a disastrous 2018-19 campaign that saw the club flirt with relegation, and that excitement was thoroughly justified through 18 games as Schalke climbed as high as fifth in the Bundesliga.

In the midst of completing a four-month ban from football for breaching betting rules, Daniel Sturridge is now being linked with Inter Miami and DC United in MLS.

The 30-year-old English striker is “serving” his ban until June 17, but the world works in mysterious ways and Sturridge will end up not missing much football during his time away. After his contract was terminated with Trabzonspor back in March, he became a free agent.

Major League Soccer hopes to have all 26 teams begin training by June 1 in Florida ahead of an official tournament later in the month, ESPN's Jeff Carlisle reported on Wednesday. The proposal would need to be approved by MLS' Player Association. 

Joan Laporta has said he will seek to bring former manager Pep Guardiola back to Barcelona if his bid to return as president of the LaLiga club in 2021 is successful, Spanish media reported. 

Laporta was Barcelona president from 2003 to 2010 and was at the helm when Guardiola was promoted from the youth team to manager of the senior team in 2008. 

Jill Ellis, who led the United States to back-to-back Women's World Cup titles, would make the ideal replacement for England head coach Phil Neville when he leaves the job next year, former striker Eniola Aluko has said. 

England women's head coach Neville will exit the role at the end of his contract in July 2021 and Aluko told The Football Show that Ellis had the ability to bring silverware to the team. 

Ajax is not immune to the financial strain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the club will not be strong-armed into cut-price deals for their players in the upcoming transfer window, chief executive Edwin van der Sar said. 

The Dutch club has built a reputation as the "talent factory" of European football over the last two decades and earned about $161.7 million last summer as Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt secured high-profile moves to Barcelona and Juventus, respectively. 

Of all the clubs that can feel hard done-by the suspension of football, Wolves certainly has a case to be near the top of the list. After a six-year spell outside the Premier League, Wolves firmly established itself in England’s top division last season with a seventh-place finish and qualification to this year's Europa League.

On Friday, May 8, the K League returns for the 38th season of top-division football in South Korea. Who among us can forget how the 2019 competition ended, with Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors capturing the title while Australia international Adam Taggart finished top scorer with 20 goals? What, you don’t remember that?

That’s all poised to change this year with Pohang Steelers, Sangju Sangmu, Costa Rica’s Marco Ureña and Canada’s Doneil Henry ready to storm your TV sets with a bit of live sport on ESPN (at some admittedly ungodly hours).

Fiorentina owner Rocco Commisso has said the club will not try to stop talisman Federico Chiesa should he decide to join Juventus. 

"Chiesa must decide and, if he wants to leave, I won't stand in his way, as long as the amount is right ... If he wants to go to Juve, there are no vetoes for certain clubs," Commisso claimed.